KSHB 41 reporter Tod Palmer covers sports business, including FIFA World Cup 26, and eastern Jackson County. Share your story idea with Tod.
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Kansas City will host six FIFA World Cup 26 games in June and July at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
That’s tied with Philadelphia, Santa Clara, California, and Seattle for the fewest among any of the tournament’s 11 U.S. venues, but Kansas City lucked out in terms of quality contests, star power and storylines.
Argentina, the reigning World Cup champions led by legendary attacking midfielder Lionel Messi, will play at least one game at Arrowhead along with the Netherlands, who are ranked seventh in the FIFA Men’s World Ranking.
If Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal win their group, they’re in line for at least one game in Kansas City as well, giving the BBQ Capital of America and the Soccer Capital of America immense star power from its allotment of games.
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The region could get even luckier on the base camp front with Argentina, the Netherlands, England and Algeria, which plays two group stage matches at Arrowhead, among the front-runners to spend up to a month before the tournament in Kansas City.
Here’s more on the third game that will be staged in KC:
GROUP F — TUNISIA VS NETHERLANDS
TIME/DATE: 6 p.m., June 25
GET TO KNOW TUNISIA
FIFA World Ranking: No. 41
World Cup appearances: Seventh
Best World Cup finish: Group stage
Best nickname: Eagles of Carthage
Head coach (Appointed, W-D-L w/ national team): Sami Trabelsi (Overall 23-12-12 — 2011-2013, 13-9-10; 2025, 10-3-2)
Biggest star: Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane
The midfielder is the key cog in Tunisia’s world-class defense.
Ben Romdhane was born and raised in Tunis, the nation’s capital, and came up through the youth system with Espérance de Tunis, where he starred from 2017-23 before a move to Ferencváros in Hungary’s top flight.
For the last two seasons, Ben Romdhane returned to Egypt’s Al Ahly.
He’s scored seven goals, including four during FIFA World Cup 26 qualifying, in 54 career appearances for the Eagles of Carthage.
Population (world rank): 12,048,847 (81st)
Total area (world rank): 63,170 square miles (92nd)
Gross national income, per capita (world rank): $3,900 (139th)
More about Tunisia: The Eagles of Carthage were the first African team to win a World Cup when Tunisia stunned Mexico in their opening match in 1978.
It’s a great historical note, but can we pause to appreciate the nickname: The Eagles of Carthage. It’s awesome, so we should all root for underdog Tunisia based on the incredible nickname alone.
Anyway, Tunisia, the northernmost country in Africa, is also known for having multiple Star Wars locations. Tataouine, a city in southern Tunisia, inspired the desert planet of a substantially similar name, Tatooine, in George Lucas’ film franchise.
Tunisia shares a border with Algeria, which will play in Kansas City twice during the group stage, and is an ancient civilization.
Situated along the Mediterranean Sea, it’s renowned for its beautiful beaches and ancient architecture. The Great Mosque of Kairouan is an early Islamic masterpiece, and the Amphitheatre of El Jem, a nearly 1,800-year-old amphitheater, is among the country’s iconic Roman ruins.
Tunisia was central to the Punic Wars, with Hannibal commanding the forces of Carthage against the Roman Empire during the Second Punic War.
GET TO KNOW THE NETHERLANDS
FIFA World Ranking: No. 7
World Cup appearances: 12th
Best World Cup finish: Runner-up (1974, 1978, 2010)
Best nickname: Clockwork Orange
Head coach (Appointed, W-D-L w/ national team): Ronald Koeman (Overall 32-13-12 — 2018-20, 11-5-4; 2023-present, 21-8-8)
Biggest star: Virgil van Dijk
Arguably the greatest centerback, or central defender, of his generation, Virgil van Dijk is a dominant force in the penalty box for reigning English Premier League champions Liverpool and the Dutch national team.
Van Dijk cut his teeth at Groningen in the Eredivisie, which is the top Dutch domestic league, before moving to Scottish power Celtic and eventually joining EPL side Southampton ahead of the 2015-16 season. He has been with Liverpool since a January transfer midway through the 2017-18 campaign.
In 8 1/2 seasons with Liverpool, van Dijk has established himself as arguably the greatest centerback in history with a rare blend of size, speed, technical ability and soccer IQ. He’s also a capable attacking player despite playing primarily on the back line, netting 21 goals in 252 EPL appearances and 30 goals in 344 appearances in all competitions during his time with Liverpool.
Van Dijk is a seasoned leader and feared defensive force who organizes and controls the defensive third of the field for Clockwork Orange.
Population (world rank): 17,772,378 (71st)
Total area (world rank): 16,040 square miles (133rd)
Gross national income, per capita (world rank): $62,840 (15th)
More about the Netherlands: Occasionally referred to colloquially as Holland, that name actually refers to a coastal region in the western Netherlands, and the reference doesn’t generally sit well with non-Hollanders.
It is, however, perfectly acceptable to refer to people from the Netherlands — or “lower countries,” owing to its flat and low-lying topography with more than a quarter of the country below sea level — as Dutch.
Amsterdam is the country’s largest city and capital, though the government is seated in The Hague.
Europol, the European Union’s law-enforcement agency, and many of the world’s international courts — including the United Nations’ International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court and the Permanent Court of Arbitration — are based in The Hague, which, along with Rotterdam, comprises the largest port in Europe and largest metropolitan area in the Netherlands.
Despite being two-thirds the size of West Virginia, the Dutch export more flowers than any other country — the Netherlands is especially known for its tulips — and rank as the world’s second-largest exporter of food, including Gouda cheese and beer, such as Heineken, Amstel and Grolsch.
The Dutch invented gin along with cassettes, CDs, DVDs, blu-rays, and the stock exchange; own three times as many bikes as cars; and have the highest museum density in the world. Famously, there are more bicycles (~23 million) than people (~18 million) in the Netherlands, which is known for a rich tradition in competitive bicycling and speed skating.
There are indeed a lot of windmills in the Netherlands, many of which still help with flood control, but the famed wooden clogs are largely a thing of the past, aside from a tourist gimmick.
Buoyed by one of the world’s healthiest diets, Dutch men are the tallest in the world, on average, and modern carrots are orange because of selective cultivation in the Netherlands as a tribute to William of Orange, who led the fight for independence from Spain.
The Netherlands was the first country to legalize same-sex marriage in 2001.
Many of the world’s most revered painters — including Rembrandt, Van Gogh and Vermeer — are Dutch, along with four-time Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen and “The Father of Microbiology,” Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, who is credited with discovering the existence of bacteria.
Johan Cruyff, considered the greatest Dutch footballer in history and the embodiment of “Total Football,” starred for the Netherlands’ most-famous club, Ajax, and later helped turn around Barcelona, joining the La Liga side in Spain’s first division on a then-record transfer fee.
He went on to manage at both clubs, where his 4-3-3 system became foundational to “the beautiful game,” making Cruyff — a three-time Balon d’Or winner as the world’s top player (1971, 1973, 1974) — one of the most influential figures in modern soccer.
Anne Frank kept her diary as the family hid in the secret annex above her father’s warehouse in Amsterdam during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands from July 1942 to August 1944.
Korfball, a basketball-like Dutch sport played with soccer balls thrown into netless 11-1/2-foot-tall baskets, was invented in 1902, and the Netherlands has swept all 11 championships at the World Games and 11 of 12 titles in International Korfball Federation World Championship play.
The Dutch West India Company, which was active in the Atlantic slave trade, established a presence for the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean — including fellow Kansas City-bound World Cup squad Curaçao.
ANALYSIS
Eagles of Carthage vs. Clockwork Orange in one of the World Cup's all-time great nickname battles!
Tunisia is no stranger to the World Cup, but they’ve also never had much success.
The Eagles of Carthage — still my favorite nickname of the Kansas City-bound teams (sorry, La Albiceleste!) — have been to seven World Cups, including six of the last eight, but have yet to progress into the knockout rounds.
If they come to Arrowhead needing a win to break that streak, it’ll be a difficult chore against a Netherlands side that’s unquestionably the greatest soccer-playing country yet to win a World Cup.
Tunisia, which didn’t allow a goal during World Cup qualifying, won’t go down without a fight, but the Netherlands, which have been World Cup runners-up three times, will be heavily favored.
The Dutch missed the 2018 tourney in Russia, but have reached at least the quarterfinals in their three appearances since 2010, so Clockwork Orange is no stranger to deep World Cup runs.
The Netherlands showed class in a dominating performance during European qualifying, allowing only four goals in eight matches — six wins and two draws — to win their group.
Seven different players netted multiple goals for the Netherlands in qualifying, led by Memphis Depay’s eight goals. Depay, who is the all-time leading scorer for the Dutch with 55 goals in 108 appearances, currently stars for Corinthians in Brazil after successful stints in the top flight of the Netherlands, England, France and Spain.
Two other forwards, Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo and Aston Villa’s Donyell Malen, each added four goals in qualifying, while Manchester City midfielder Tijani Reijnders, Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Xavi Simons, Inter Milan right back Denzel Dumfries and van Dijk netted twice apiece.
With Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong racing from box to box and Liverpool defensive midfielder Ryan Gravenberch tidying up, the Netherlands will boast a lot of firepower and star power in Kansas City.
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Sources: Countries by Area — CIA; Countries by Population — CIA; GNI per capita, Atlas method — World Bank